Soon, a very different kind of Butterfly—the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi from manufacturer Overair—may grace the Golden State’s skies following a partnership between Overair and Clay Lacy Aviation. The FBO network and infrastructure developer is working with the manufacturer to introduce advanced air mobility (AAM) services across Southern California.

The core focus of the strategic collaboration will be on vertiports and a concept of operations for Butterfly and other AAM aircraft. Clay Lacy Aviation will spearhead the development of electric charging infrastructure and operational logistics.

“Ultra-quiet, all-electric aircraft bring the promise of convenient and efficient transportation, easing traffic congestion and reducing travel times,” said Scott Cutshall, senior vice president of strategy and sustainability at Clay Lacy Aviation.

Overair, meanwhile, will bring expertise in aircraft integration, certification, and maintenance, as well as flight path planning and user and vertiport software. The manufacturer will also work to get the public on board for AAM services.

“AAM is an ideal addition to Southern California’s transportation network, creating a new option for fast, safe, and quiet transportation in the region,” said Valerie Manning, chief commercial officer of Overair. “We have been working with our partners at Clay Lacy [Aviation] for over a year and are delighted to announce our shared plan. We are confident that this strategic collaboration will leverage our respective strengths.”

Standing up vertiports will be a key component of the partnership, providing Clay Lacy Aviation hubs out of which to fly Butterfly. The vertiports figure to feature heavily in Overair’s concept of operations for AAM services in the region, which will dictate exactly how Butterfly and other air taxis fly.

Overair completed its first full-scale Butterfly prototype in December, joining a handful of manufacturers to have actually built an eVTOL design. The aircraft—designed to fly a pilot and up to five passengers on 100 sm (87 nm) zero-emission trips, cruising at 174 knots—is expected to begin flight testing this year.

“As we continue to make strides developing Butterfly, we’re also focused on partnering with infrastructure leaders to ensure that operations using this new mode of transit can be scaled quickly and efficiently,” said John Criezis, head of mobility operations at Overair.

Overair and Clay Lacy Aviation intend to install electric charging infrastructure across Southern California, starting with the latter’s FBO locations at John Wayne Airport (KSNA) in Orange County and Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) in Los Angeles. 

According to the partners, their intent is to cover the broad needs of all AAM operators rather than a single standard. Overair, for example, is one of many eVTOL manufacturers that signed onto the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s (GAMA) endorsement of the combined charging system (CCS) standard for electric aviation.

CCS is designed to support all electric vehicles, ground or air. It’s the most widely used global standard for electric ground vehicles but is steadily losing out to Tesla’s North American charging system (NACS) alternative. For air taxis, Joby Aviation is pushing its global electric aviation charging system (GEACS) as the industry standard.

A pair of CCS supporters—Archer Aviation and Beta Technologies—have publicly clashed with Joby over which system should be adopted universally. Clay Lacy Aviation, however, intends to build infrastructure that fits both proposals.

“Clay Lacy Aviation is committed to installing the electrical infrastructure to support all makes and models of electric aircraft, both fixed wing and eVTOL, to encourage the adoption of electric flight,” Cutshall told FLYING. “In planning our new FBO development at John Wayne Airport, we are speaking with multiple OEMs and our local utility provider to ensure that the electric infrastructure we build out can support both CCS and GEACS charging protocols.”

Joby this week agreed to install GEACS chargers in the New York City region, following a partnership with Atlantic Aviation to electrify FBO terminals in New York and Los Angeles. Both Archer and Beta also signed partnerships with Atlantic to add CCS systems at other company locations. Joby will also install a GEACS charger at Clay Lacy Aviation’s John Wayne FBO.

It’s possible that one system will entirely supplant the other as OEMs and operators pick a side—a scenario that appears to be unfolding in the U.S. electric ground vehicle industry. But whether CCS or GEACS wins out, Clay Lacy Aviation intends to be able to serve both.

Overair’s agreement with Clay Lacy Aviation comes on the heels of similar arrangements with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) and the city of Arlington, Texas, to launch AAM services in the North Texas region. The manufacturer plans to deliver aircraft to customers in India and South Korea, working with local partners to develop infrastructure and operational plans.

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Overair, maker of the Butterfly eVTOL air taxi, said Tuesday that it completed the build of its first full-scale prototype aircraft, which is set to begin flight testing early next year. The company will start with vehicle-level testing at its Santa Ana, California, headquarters before moving the aircraft to its flight test facility in nearby Victorville.

Early tests will aim to validate different aspects of Butterfly’s technology: propulsion systems, flight control mechanics, safety features, and operational efficiency, to name a few. Overair will also evaluate how the aircraft meets its noise target (55 decibels) and performance envelope under an array of flight and weather conditions.

Overair hopes to certify Butterfly with the FAA and is working through its G-1 Stage 3 means of compliance, which will establish the criteria for validating its certification basis. Those criteria will be assessed in future “for credit” testing under the regulator’s watchful eye. The company expects Butterfly to enter service in 2028, in line with the FAA’s timeline for early advanced air mobility (AAM) operations.

“Assembling our first full-scale prototype vehicle marks the culmination of years of industry expertise, meticulous development planning, innovative engineering, and the hard work of the entire Overair team,” said Ben Tigner, CEO of Overair. “This seamless transition from propulsion testing to a full-scale prototype underscores our dedication to redefining the eVTOL landscape with safer, quieter, and more reliable aircraft.”

Butterfly deploys two technologies Overair says have never been integrated on an eVTOL design: optimum speed tilt rotor (OSTR) and individual blade control (IBC).

The OSTR system is essentially a power saver. Throughout vertical, transition, and forward flight, it varies propeller revolutions per minute, which Overair says boosts efficiency. The company claims OSTR reduces power demand in hover by as much as 60 percent.

IBC, meanwhile, reduces propeller loads by limiting the vibration of each blade, which the firm says results in safer, smoother, lower-cost flights. Last week, the technology was awarded a U.S. Navy Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract, which will see it developed for potential Navy use. 

Matt Rhinehart, aeromechanics senior engineer of the Naval Air Systems Command, said IBC opens up a long list of potential benefits for the Navy’s “next generation of rotorcraft.”

Overair claims Butterfly’s combination of OSTR and IBC produces efficient, quiet propulsion in nearly any weather, temperature, or altitude. In addition, the design features four oversized rotors, a large cabin, and a payload of about 1,100 pounds—enough for five passengers and their luggage. The company says Butterfly is ideal for passenger, medical, cargo, and military applications.

“Since day one, Overair has been committed to developing an aircraft that extends efficient air transportation to a broader audience; an aircraft that will be welcomed by local communities, passengers, and operators alike,” said Valerie Manning, chief commercial officer at Overair. “Our prototype is where we begin real-world, full-scale validation of these fundamental design principles.”

As Overair rolls out its first full-scale prototype, it joins a handful of other eVTOL air taxi manufacturers to reach that stage. Archer Aviation was one of the first in the U.S. to hit the milestone, completing the build of its first Midnight prototype in May. Joby Aviation in June rolled out its initial production prototype, following the introduction of its full-scale preproduction model in 2019. Both firms have begun flight testing.

Germany’s Volocopter, meanwhile, has assembled two prototypes: the two-seat VoloCity and the larger VoloConnect. Another German manufacturer, Lilium, started building its first Lilium Jet this month, while Embraer subsidiary Eve Air Mobility expects to complete a full-scale prototype by year’s end.

Once Butterfly makes it through the gauntlet of FAA certification tasks, Overair plans to deploy it in a few key markets.

In November, the company announced partnerships with Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) and the city of Arlington, Texas, to launch air taxi flights out of DFW Airport and Arlington Municipal Airport (KGKY). No firm commitment has been made to purchase aircraft, but the partners plan to introduce vertiports, charging stations, and new policies to the region to build a full-fledged AAM ecosystem. Eventually, it’s expected to span the entire Dallas-Fort Worth metro area and North Texas region.

In addition to those agreements, Overair has a partnership with helicopter operator Bristow Group, which placed a preorder for 20 to 50 Butterflys. Bristow plans to fly the eVTOL on commercial air taxi routes in its service areas, including several cities in and around Texas.

Farther to the west, Overair and several other eVTOL manufacturers are working with Urban Movement Labs, a Los Angeles government-community transportation partnership. It expects to highlight Butterfly during the city’s 2028 Olympic Games, alongside other players.

Overair in October also agreed to deliver 20 aircraft to South Korean helicopter transportation provider HeliKorea. The partnership followed plans to launch services on Jeju, the country’s largest island and a major tourist destination.

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On Thursday, Santa Ana, California-based Overair announced a pair of partnerships to bring a much larger kind of emerging aircraft to the area: electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis. The manufacturer plans to launch advanced air mobility (AAM) operations out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (KDFW) and Arlington Municipal Airport (KGKY), with plans to expand the services throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area.

Overair intends to bring not just eVTOL aircraft but also vertiports, charging stations, and new policies to the region, with an eye toward building a full-fledged AAM ecosystem—one that could last years into the future.

The company signed a memorandum of understanding with DFW Airport that calls on the partners to gauge the development of vertiports and eVTOL aircraft operations across North Texas. The agreement includes a “feasibility assessment” of passenger air taxi operations, which will evaluate regional demand and scenarios for air taxi flights in and out of vertiports.

Overair’s flagship Butterfly aircraft was designed with that use case in mind. The air taxi is capable of flying a pilot and up to five passengers on zero-emission, 100 sm (87 nm) trips at a cruise speed of about 174 knots.

“DFW Airport has a long history of building the groundwork today for the airport needs of the future,” said Paul Puopolo, executive vice president of innovation for the airport. “By exploring the future of aviation now, we will help better position the entire DFW metroplex for the next era of innovative air mobility.”

The agreement will also create a joint working group between the partners, which will dig into the policies and infrastructure required to integrate AAM into the region long term. In addition, it will assess Butterfly’s operational procedures: approach, landing, taxiing, charging, takeoff, departure, safety protocols, and loading and unloading passengers, to name a few.

“[Thursday’s] agreement is a major step toward bringing AAM to one of the world’s largest and fastest growing metropolitan areas,” said Valerie Manning, chief commercial officer of Overair. “We look forward to working closely with DFW to ensure the more than 8 million people living throughout this region, along with the millions of visitors per year, will have easy access to safe, fast, affordable, and eco-friendly travel options.”

Separately, Overair announced a collaboration with Arlington, Texas, which it said is the first direct partnership between a Texas city and an eVTOL manufacturer. Similar to the agreement with DFW Airport, Overair will work with the city to offer air taxi services regionwide, starting with flights out of Arlington Municipal.

Those initial trips are expected to fly passengers in and out of the city’s entertainment district, which is home to a pair of Six Flags amusement parks, a quartet of professional sports teams, and a plethora of restaurants, shopping centers, museums, and event venues.

The agreement calls for Overair to add vertiports and electric aircraft chargers to the region in addition to air taxis. It will also see the company set up a base of operations in North Central Texas, which is expected to bring new jobs to residents.

“This partnership with Overair not only advances the city of Arlington as a leader in implementing innovative transportation solutions, it also provides high-tech and engineering jobs to our residents and the community at large—ultimately creating a new mobility ecosystem that will provide socioeconomic progress for decades to come,” said Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.

Like the agreement with DFW Airport, the collaboration between Overair and Arlington includes a feasibility study and the formation of a joint working group, which will oversee the project to make sure key milestones are met on schedule.

“[Thursday’s] announcement is a major step toward positioning Arlington as one of the first cities in the world to integrate fully electric AAM capabilities into its transportation ecosystem,” said Manning. “Electric AAM is an example of transportation evolving with the needs of a growing society. We are incredibly excited to help drive this transportation evolution in north central Texas and to expand our presence in this region, known for its talent and technology.”

Laying the Foundation

Overair is targeting service with Butterfly in 2028. As of October, it was working with the FAA on its G-1 Stage 3 means of compliance. But to get to scaled air taxi operations, the right infrastructure will need to be in place.

Currently, the DFW region has one large vertiport—the Dallas Central Business District Vertiport (49T) at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD). Another site is being developed by Volatus Infrastructure at Greenport International Airport, a “green airport” project under construction outside Austin. Vertiport firm Ferrovial, meanwhile, recently moved its headquarters to the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Irving.

Those projects could give Overair a baseline level of infrastructure, but it will certainly need more to expand AAM services regionwide. Electric charging stations are the other key piece of that puzzle—it’s unclear whether the firm will build those systems itself or if it will partner with a manufacturer like Beta Technologies, which recently sold several chargers to Archer Aviation.

In addition to Thursday’s agreements with the DFW airport and the city of Arlington, Overair has a partnership with helicopter operator Bristow Group, based a few hundred miles south in Houston. Bristow placed a preorder for 20 to 50 Butterflys and plans to fly the eVTOL on commercial air taxi routes in its service areas, which include several cities in and around Texas.

Farther to the west, Overair and several other eVTOL manufacturers are working with Urban Movement Labs, a Los Angeles government-community transportation partnership. It plans to launch in the city in the future and will highlight Butterfly during the city’s 2028 Olympic Games, alongside other players.

More recently, the manufacturer agreed to deliver 20 aircraft to South Korean helicopter transportation provider HeliKorea. It also plans to launch services on Jeju, the country’s largest island and a major tourist destination.

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